I'm currently building the Whippet by Meng, and here is where I'm so far
Since I'm not so used to WWI tanks, I need some help from the experts of Landships.
First, I've to say that my main reference for this building is the vehicle at the Bovington Tank Museum. Last Summer I visited the great place and took many photos of Caesar
However, here is what I'm unsure about:
Do you know what the thing inside the red circle is? There is nothing like that on Caesar...
Moreover, in the instruction booklet there are these brackets to be assembled to the the rear (B2-B14) and to the front (A15-A14) of the vehicle...
Do you know if they actually were on operative tanks, and what were they used for? Once again, they are not on Caesar
I know that my questions can look ingenuous, but as I already said I'm everything but a WWI tanks expert
Hi Luca, good start on your Whippet. The angle brackets front and rear are correct and were fitted to operational tanks, they were used to string a canvas track cover between see the attached pictures.
I can't say for sure about the bulge on the back of the cab but none of my reference pictures show it, the APG Whippet had the remnants of a flat bracket in that position so Meng may be getting confused with that?
As for the bulge on the back plate, I'm on the way to remove it. Meng says that the vehicle at Bovington was the main reference, and since there is no bulge neither on Caesar nor on your pictures, I think that's enough to have a model without it
Your help really much appreciated
Luca
-- Edited by Luca on Saturday 9th of April 2016 12:54:16 PM
That bulge looks like the bracket for a shovel.
(You see bulges like that on older kits but then there is a second bracket for the handle above it)
Could that be it?
Willem
This is the exAPG Whippet and, as Bernard said, there is the remnant of a flat bracket, something looking like the bulge of the Meng model...
This is the Whippet at Borden and, as Red truck said, no bulge on it...
.
Firefly, Bruxelles. Here is the bulge again, and Willem, you're right, it actually looks like a shovel bracket, yet I can't understand if the "thing" is hollowed or it is not
(BTW, I found these pics here on Landships, however they are for discussion purposes only).
We already know that there is no bulge on Caesar
I could speculate that there were different "subversions" of this vehicle , but that's just a pure speculation.
In my opinion that means, so far, that it is possible to build a model with or without the bulge, unless you decide to reproduce one specific vehicle, and in this case it would be Caesar
The bulge is for securing the point of the spade to stop it flapping about or jumping loose from the handle bracket. No suspension do'nt forget. The canvas track covers were meant to cut out the glare from above from the worn areas on the track.
Paul
__________________
The finest stories of the Great War are those that will never be told.
The manufacturer's claims are often dubious - I have a kit of HMS Dreadnought where the manufacturer said that a particular book was used as reference. I have the book and they obviously didn't read it fully!
The Brussels Whippet shows the detail.
I'd attached the 68-page booklet on the comparison of the four whippets: South Africa; Bovington; Aberdeen Proving Ground; and Brussels. However, the 12MB size was rejected by the post, so if anyone wants a copy, please give me an email address and I'll send it.
Tony
-- Edited by Tonys on Tuesday 14th of June 2016 09:43:48 AM
Nice model Luca, go to this website and click on lists, then scroll down to Whippets. there are 2 pages of names,numbers etc sites.google.com/site/landships/home
Paul
__________________
The finest stories of the Great War are those that will never be told.
Just thought these images might be of interest...or not. Your decision. (I took this photo on a recent visit to Camp Borden (CFB Borden Ontario).) Looks like there was some sort of removal/repair/patch in the area in question.
However, the track has obviously been painted over, aswell as the red and white paintwork. The photos are too yellow and bright (from flash?). The actual colour is darker, and less "grass" green...more dirty green.
... I was going to contact the Borden Museum for you, and ask them about the Whippet. But I cannot find any email contact info...just telephone (long distance). centraleastontario.cioc.ca/record/ALL0351
-- Edited by airdave on Monday 4th of July 2016 01:47:30 PM
In your first link Dave there are quite clear shots of older paintwork, around the front idler and also on the return rollers which clearly shows a darker shade of green
Paul
__________________
The finest stories of the Great War are those that will never be told.